36 | APRIL 29 • 2021
T
he occasion of Lag
b’Omer, which is cus-
tomarily celebrated as
a quasi-holiday, is shrouded
in mystery. Unlike every other
special occasion on the Jewish
calendar, regard-
ing Lag b’Omer,
we have precious
little information
about what it is
we are celebrating.
The Gemara
in Maseches
Yevamos (62b)
tells that Rabbi Akiva had 24,000
students who all died from a
dreadful disease during a single
period — the weeks after Pesach.
They perished, the Gemara
says, because they did not treat
each other respectfully. The
Gemara adds that their death
left the world bereft of Torah
scholarship, until Rabbi Akiva
approached five outstanding
scholars and taught them, there-
by ensuring the perpetuation of
our sacred scholarly tradition.
We commemorate the death
of Rabbi Akiva’s students by
observing certain mourning
practices during the weeks
after Pesach, the period when
they perished. The Shulchan
Aruch (O.C. 493:2) writes that
the mourning practices end on
Lag b’Omer, because accord-
ing to tradition, the plague
ended on this day. The Rama
(16th-century Rabbi Moses
Isserles of Krakow, Poland)
adds that Lag b’Omer is
observed as a minor holiday.
The Peri Chadash (by Rav
Chizkiya Da Silva, Italy-
Jerusalem, 1659-1698) asks why
the end of the plague is cause
for celebration. The plague
ended only once there were
no students left to die. Why is
this something to celebrate?
The Peri Chadash there-
fore shifts the focus from the
plague to its aftermath —
Rabbi Akiva’s rebuilding Torah
scholarship after this calamity.
According to the Peri Chadash,
on Lag b’Omer we celebrate
the fact that Rabbi Akiva
assured the future of Torah
after losing 24,000 students.
ALTERNATIVE VIEWS
Another explanation is that
Lag b’Omer marks the yahrtz-
eit of Rashbi (second-century
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai).
This is based on an account
written by Rav Chaim Vital
(1543-1620) describing a
pilgrimage made by his men-
tor, the Arizal (Rav Yitzchak
Luria, 1534-1572), to Rashbi’s
gravesite on Mount Meiron
in the Upper Galilee on Lag
b’Omer. Rav Chaim Vital
writes that the Arizal referred
to Lag b’Omer on that occa-
sion as תמשםוי — “the day he
died.” Many understood this
to mean that Lag b’Omer is
Rashbi’s yahrtzeit.
Others, however, disagree.
In an early manuscript of Rav
Chaim Vital’s account, this text
reads, י"בשר'מש םויב. And in a
different manuscript, the word
'מש appears as 'חמש. It seems
clear that the intended phrase
is י"בשרתחמש — “the joy of
Rashbi,” and the letter ת was
omitted to save space.
Accordingly, the Chida (Rav
Chaim Yosef David Azulai,
1724-1806) writes (in Mar’is
Ayin, likutim, 7:8) that the the-
ory that Lag b’Omer marks the
yahrtzeit of Rashbi stems from
a mistaken reading of a manu-
script. The Chida explains that
י"בשרתחמש refers to the fact
that on Lag b’Omer, Rashbi and
his four peers began learning
with Rabbi Akiva, thus setting
into motion the renewal of
Torah scholarship. Similar to the
Peri Chadash’s understanding,
the Chida writes that this was
Rashbi’s joyous day because it
was then that he began studying
under Rabbi Akiva.
According to this under-
standing, there is only one
reason for the Lag b’Omer
celebration — the end of the
plague and the subsequent
rebuilding of Torah.
THE JOY OF FREEDOM
But there might also be a
different explanation of
י"בשרתחמש.
The Aruch Ha’shulchan (O.C.
493:7) by Rav Yechiel Michel
Epstein of Nevarduk, Belarus,
1829-1908, interestingly
enough, writes in discussing
the Lag b’Omer celebration:
“They say that he [Rashbi]
passed away on this day, and
also that he left the cave on this
day.” As the Gemara (Shabbos
33b) tells, Rashbi and his son
were forced to flee from the
Roman authorities, and they
hid for 12 years in a cave.
Without citing any source,
the Aruch Ha’shulchan brings
a tradition that it was on Lag
b’Omer when they discovered
that it was safe to leave.
This, then, might be the
meaning of י"בשרתחמש —
that this was a day of immense
joy, when he was finally free to
leave the cave and resume his
work disseminating Torah.
For over a year, we have
found ourselves in a “cave” of
sorts, limiting our excursions
from our homes, in order
to protect ourselves from a
dangerous illness. Like Rashbi
and his son, we have lived in a
state of confinement.
We hope and pray that G-d
will watch over and guard all
of us just as He watched over
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
and his son, and that we will
soon celebrate our “departure”
from this isolation and come
together in friendship, joy and
love, amen.
Rabbi Dov Loketch is a rabbi at
Agudas Yisrael Mogen Avraham
synagogue in Southfield.
Rabbi Dov
Loketch
SPIRIT
The Mystery of
Lag b’Omer
Adults and children
in Tel Aviv joyously
celebrate amid Lag
b’Omer bonfires.